Grindr is set to stop sharing sensitive data with third parties, after is was found to be sending information about users’ HIV status to Apptimize and Localytics.
The third party firms, both of which focus on ‘app optimisation’, received the data encrypted and anonymised. The information was never shared with advertisers.
Chief Security Officer Brian Case felt the issue had been blown out of proportion, citing the unfortunate concurrence of the Facebook Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Speaking to Buzzfeed, he said: “It’s being conflated with Cambridge Analytica. This is just something we use for internal tooling.
“I will not admit fault in the regard that the data was used.”
In a blog post, Grindr says: “It’s important to remember that Grindr is a public forum.
“We give users the option to post information about themselves including HIV status and last test date, and we make it clear in our privacy policy that if you choose to include this information in your profile, the information will also become public.
“As a result, you should carefully consider what information to include in your profile.”
The GBTQ app has recently added reminder notifications for users’ HIV tests.
It sponsored a Queer ‘Edit-a-thon’ of Wikipedia articles at this year’s SXSW.
Read more here.